Kansas City police have opened a homicide investigation after a woman was found dead inside a friend's home in the 3800 block of 59th Street early Wednesday morning.

Police were called to the home at about 12:14 a.m. after the resident came home and found the door open, assuming there was a burglary in progress. Police came and found the woman dead when they arrived.

Related Content

Relatives identified the victim as Natasha Lewis, 33. Relatives said she's had a lot of problems lately, including losing custody of her young son.

"In the last year, she kind of went off course, but that was still no reason for anybody to kill her," said her aunt, Debbie Smith, who is caring for the boy.

Smith said Lewis had been questioned in connection with a shooting in Grandview, and she wonders if it is connected to her death.

"Something to do with revenge. I don't know. It could have been drug-related, I don't know," she said.

Smith said Lewis recently got a new factory job in Grandview and had been working to get her life back on track and regain custody of her 5-year-old son. He was in school when Smith got the news about his mother.

"I dread having to go get him to tell him," she said.

People living in the area said they are concerned about this type of violence in their neighborhood.

"Every day somebody's gone or every other day somebody's getting shot, somebody's going to the hospital, somebody's getting stabbed, or somebody's found dead in their home," said one neighbor. "I mean, ain't no telling what to expect next, it could be either you or me."

If you have any information you're asked to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS. No suspect information is available at this time.